Why We Must All Do Our Bits To Make Nigeria A Functional Country
"Mrs. Goodluck Jonathan's mum was in Germany earlier this year for a medical checkup. She died a few months later in a car accident on a bad road in Port Harcourt. Ironically, the same road that killed her was then repaired for her funeral."****** Yemi Adamolekun (The Punch online: Accessed 20/11/2013)
The above quote was part of a write up by Ms Yemi Adamolekun, in the Nigerian Punch newspaper of November 20 13, titled “A wake up call for Nigerian Elites, and I have copied it below and wish Nigerians of all walk of life- elites, the political leadership and the followership must read Ms Adamolekun below and wake up from their slumber, literally and metaphorically.
There are great lessons to be learnt from her write-up and I hope Punch newspaper should re-publish it so more Nigerians, particularly the gluttonous, greedy and selfish Nigerian elites would see some reason to stop the destruction of the only Country we can call our own- a very blessed country, but for its leadership and it's over-pampered political and economic elites. If only the people would listen to the type of candid admonition offered by Yemi! Look at that lady (Will never learn any lesson, because she is dumb) who just buried her mum flying all over the place with chains of wasteful presidential jets with her coterie of "hangers-on" and free-loaders- men and women wasting state resources in Bangkok, Thailand; three weeks ago she flew a hundred women praise-singers to South Korea, in cash-for-PhD award ceremony. The husband developed self-inflicted Tommy cramp and almost avoided "Nigeria Investment Lecture (HICC)" in far away London, after over-indulging with "fine Wine, “Alcohol and choice food also using Nigerian tax-payers money, with a crowd of another 100 or more free-loaders at London high brow “Intercontinental Hotel,” including Ruben Abati- yes, "confused" Abati!
Nigerians, particularly the elites don't understand that these "robbing Peter to pay Paul" mentality amounts to a "Zero-sum game." no winners, as Dysfunctional system is the end game, and we are all losers, ultimately. When you steal too much from the poor, the ills and consequences of poverty haunts you at the end, no matter how crafty you think you are. In more decent climes, thieves hardly get away with their crime; but the few who do, give enormously to Charity; Our Nigerian, and most African system gluttons and Kleptomaniacs hardly give back to the weak and vulnerable members of their society; we dehumanise the poor with obscene celebration of ill-gotten wealth- how many big cars I have, how many imposing mansions I have at high brow areas in Nigeria and Europe and US, even "my Generator is better than yours" syndrome! Achieving personal economic and financial “success” at the expense of the overall system you belong will never guarantee you peace or wellbeing, as the Nigerian rogues have found to their chagrin, as they build high “prison” walls to avoid dare devil robbers; and some die in the sky on their way to Europe and American hospitals.
Only God saved my life in 1996 when I lost my best Nigerian friend and brother, Clement Ojie in April, 1996 in a Road Traffic Accident between Ijebu-Ode and Shagamu. I was laying on the road unconscious, with Clem's body lying right by me in that dual Carriage-way on the hot afternoon of that day, unknowing to me. No Ambulance to pick me, and thankfully Jude Ojie (now a medical Doctor in the US) was unhurt from the same car accident, and he dragged me to the road side, before a mad driver crushed me to pieces. Everyone was driving past a panting Tony by the wayside, unconcernedly, until a a good guy-whom I don't know till this day- but God will continue to bless him, wherever he may be- and driving on the opposite direction of the dual carriage way drove all the way to the next exit, reversed and came to take me to Ogun State University Teaching Hospital, Shagamu. What a good Samaritan that guy was (Super good Nigerian man), and may I also say a big thank you to Messrs Fidelis Okenmor Tilije, Alhaji Sam Oku, etal who drove down from Lagos after I regained some consciousness to pick me to Igbobi Orthopaedic hospital for further treatment- not forgetting the help with mobility equipments from my good friend, Pastor Joe Attueyi, especially en-route my flight back to London hospital.
Friends and relation sometimes ask me to return to Nigeria, because I could do better in terms of making big money; but there are certain things money can't buy and they are too many because the place (Nigeria) is dysfunctional- A system where there are no rules, or where there are different rules for different folks breeds anarchy! And then you wonder why the people think that 24 hours Electricity supply is "rocket science!" These are the things I am used to in the past 27 years or so; No, it doesn't go off 24/7, 365 days a year it is constant.
And they are human beings not Angels or Pastors running the show here. A friend from Nigeria came to cook in my Kitchen and she was asking about the "Gas Cylinder," or something like that; I told her I have never seen one in 27b years, and She wondered how the Gas comes 24/7 non-stop. I told her I don't know where the gas comes from, including the one I use to heat the flat in winter; I just pay my bills to EDF and I let their MD worry about how Tony Ishiekwene gets his cooking gas. He fiddles or muck about with my gas, and I'd meet them in court, simple! The warehouse could be in Timbuktu, Acapulco or in the Cloud or underground bunker for all I care!
Anyway let us all try and do our bits to get Nigeria back-on-track. The followerships have shown too much “mumurity” in taking all the shenanigans of our political elites. The political office holders rape and commit “murder” in the name of their peoples,whom they impose themselves on, but pretend to be “elected by my people.” Elections in Nigeria since 1999 have been largely farcical, to say the least. Stop aiding and abetting the rigging of elections,” so the best man/woman for the job gets it.
Yaa, in half-decent countries of the world, practicing true democracies, individual's capacity, ability and integrity are vetted before granting political leadership role to them. That way their first-Eleven run their affairs, not third-rate like we have currently in Nigeria. It's either true democracy or dictatorship, no half-way or in-between kind of democracy; I don't buy this idea of "nascent" democracy therefore electoral fraud should be condoned. Electoral fraud and the imposition of charlatans as political leaders is at the heart of all the problems buffeting Nigeria.